Morphogenesis and plasticity of dendritic spines
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What neurotransmitter drives most excitatory synapses in the CNS?
Glutamate.
What are the two main postsynaptic glutamate receptors?
AMPA receptors (AMPARs) and NMDA receptors (NMDARs).
What ion influx is essential for plasticity induction?
Ca²⁺ influx through NMDARs.
What is the PSD?
The postsynaptic density—dense protein network containing receptors, scaffolds and signalling complexes.
Where do most excitatory synapses occur?
On dendritic spines.
Why do neurons have dendritic spines?
To compartmentalise signalling, restrict diffusion, isolate Ca²⁺ transients, and enable synapse-specific plasticity.
What are the major spine shapes?
Filopodia, thin, stubby, mushroom.
How does spine size relate to synaptic strength?
Larger spines have larger PSDs, more AMPARs, and stronger synapses.
What cytoskeleton dominates spines?
Actin (F-actin).
What are the three actin pools in spines (Hotulainen & Hoogenraad 2010)?
Branched (Arp2/3), linear (formin), and crosslinked/stabilised (drebrin, CaMKIIβ).
What does FRAP measure?
Protein mobility/diffusion by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching.
What does FLIP measure?
Compartmentalisation by bleaching one region and observing fluorescence loss elsewhere.
What did FLIP reveal about spines?
The spine neck acts as a diffusion barrier.
What does two-photon glutamate uncaging do?
Triggers single-spine LTP with high spatial precision.
What technique measures Ca²⁺ dynamics in spines?
Calcium imaging using dyes or genetically encoded indicators.
What do GTPase FRET biosensors measure?
Activity of Rac1, Cdc42, RhoA in individual spines.
What did in vivo two-photon imaging show about learning?
Learning induces clustered spine formation and increased AMPAR levels.
What happens to spine size in LTP?
Spines enlarge.
What happens to spine size in LTD?
Spines shrink or retract.
What is structural LTP dependent on?
Actin polymerisation and stabilisation.
What is structural LTD dependent on?
Actin depolymerisation and severing.
What complex nucleates branched actin?
Arp2/3 complex.
What proteins activate Arp2/3?
N-WASP (Cdc42) and WAVE (Rac1).